So, here begins the Tokyo saga. I will be honest and say I initially had no clue how to approach this properly. Tokyo was simply too big, with too much to see, too many experiences, all crammed into a teeny tiny space (about the size I felt when I realized just how tall the buildings in Tokyo actually are). My conclusion - how about a series of posts with more pictures than words and varying topics. This post will be about Tokyo in general, and another will be for Disney, etc. The first thing I saw was this wonderful group of tourists posing - what does their pose mean? No clue. But there actually were not that many tourists while I was in Tokyo.
The second thing I saw was this...massive amounts of people, and tall, glittering buildings with movie screens. If it doesn't glow in Tokyo, it doesn't make it.
The second thing was crosswalks like this, where hundreds of people rushed across at once (this was actually a relatively quite crossing) in a rather helter-skelter manner.
The third thing was Starbucks. Need I say more? Excuse my camera - it hiccuped.
As all good tourists must, we then headed to Tokyo tower. This is the view, or what I could capture of it with my camera. Everything closes early here, including the tower (10) and all of its gift shops - they were closed before I could buy anything.
The up-her-skirt picture of the tower lit up at night.
From a distance, the tower after it closed. The lights turned to gold.
This was how it looked before it closed.
Ah, the view from on high, or at least, from my hotel room.
There is a museum in Ueno that hosts western works. This is the door from Dante's Inferno, opening to He*l, for those who don't know. Anyway, from what I hear, it is actually a seasonal portal between Alaska and Japan - those who fall through from Japan in the height of summer will surely succumb to the Alaskan winter on the other side, while those who fall through from Alaska will burn through when they hit August in Tokyo...
This lovely stuffed Akita-inu is actually Hachiko, the tragic hero of Japan who went to the station every morning to await his master (who had passed away) until the dog also passed 15 years later. I get tears on my eyes just thinking about it. On another note, the attendant came specifically to tell me this in English, which was very kind of her. The museum staff were all wonderful and very approachable.
One of several famous Ueno Zoo pandas. More on the zoo will come later, but as an overview of Tokyo, I thought this should be included. Stop by and take a look if possible, and compare to the exhibit in Atlanta, GA.
I will eventually remember what station this very large temple is at, but it is also a must-see. I will post a bit more on it later. Stop and get a Japanese sweet potato (the kind mixed with cream and butter) if you have the chance; they are scrumptious!
Only in Tokyo can you find a cat cafe like this....
I sincerely wanted to meet Professor Oak, but he was nowhere in sight. There were no pokemon either. Apparently, this place came first...
And, an American style mall (in Sunshine city as Shinjuku) with an amazing fountain. I will say this about Japan, nothing is ever halfway. Perhaps because many interesting traditions / holidays are imported, they are imported in a rather completed form - as a result, they tend not to change as quickly as they might in other countries, and then tend to be very specific. For example, the mall has a fountain with an entire water show, including lights. Halloween has a parade, a national theme song, a national dance (both song and dance inspired by Disney), etc. I can't say its a bad thing, but it's interesting. America is a melting pot of traditions, so most traditions are celebrated in a variety of ways, but in Japan, traditions tend to be relatively uniform (from what I have observed). I like it.
And last but not least, I had my first real brownie in Japan at a Coldstone. They actually sang and danced to three different sons while they made our ice cream, one with a tune to "head, shoulders, knees, and toes." The ice cream was delicious, and the people never stopped smiling once. I do love Japanese customer service (they seem genuine, too). I think it's fun for them to be so into their jobs.
mata, ne...
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